Monthly Archives: November 2012

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Grover: “Hey! You Talkin’ To Me?”

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Daring to cross Al Capone in 1928 was typically a career-ending experience. Capone made his power and authority so clear and unambiguous that rare was the need to enforce it. So too has become the power of our country’s current political thug, Grover Norquist.  Just a few occasional words of warning from Grover are usually enough to frighten any politician into signing and keeping a life-time pledge to never ever, ever increase taxes (did I mention ever?).

And on that rare occasion when a daring Republican implies that he might break this no-tax pledge, Grover is right there to remind him of the consequences of such disloyalty. In the case of Capone, it would have been a brief call to “Louie Da Bull “. In the case of Grover, it’s a similar call to a few friends who will have you unseated in the next primary.  A less bloody end, but an end nevertheless.

You even thinkin‘ of breakin’ da pledge?  Fuggeddaboutit!

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Desperate Times & Desperate Measures:

As we stare into the abyss that is the looming fiscal cliff, everyone in Congress finally knows it’s time for that Grand Bargain. There’s simply no time left for sacred cows. Democrats are finally prepared to put entitlements on the chopping block. And Republicans are finally ready to increase revenues … or… they would be ready to increase revenues but for their pathologic fear of The Grover. In fact, Grover now has Republicans squirming in their boots, desperately searching for any way to increase revenues without actually looking like they are increasing revenues.

So these anxious Republicans are now faced with a very simple choice that feels so terribly difficult: pledge-to-country or pledge-to-a-lobbyist ?  It’s really that simple. While displays of political courage are rare, the words of Republicans Bob Corker, Lindsey Graham, Peter King and Saxby Chambliss this week give us cautious cause for optimism.  We will now see whether these few brave men will be able to inspire similar courage in a majority of their peers.

Who could have imagined that a fear of crossing one solitary lobbyist could potentially lead an entire party to shove America off the fiscal cliff (that is, who besides Al Capone)?

So what will it be Republicans, your country or your lobbyist?

If you decide to put your country first, you can one day tell your grandkids about the time you bravely stood up to Al Capone and saved America.

If instead your loyalty lies with your lobbyist, when your little granddaughter asks why Grandpa cowardly turned his back on his country during its moment of crisis, you should tell her the truth:  because you were really really scared of this guy:

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According to several of my more liberal friends, it would appear that the Republican Party’s very existence now depends on its ability to fully embrace abortion, gay marriage and tattoos (ok, I added the tattoos part).

Apparently, what my Democratic friends believe this country really needs are two Democratic Parties. Call me crazy, but as I believe the competition of ideas and political philosophies is the very strength of our unique government, I suggest my liberal friends reconsider this position – perhaps while sitting for another tattoo (completely unfair, but I couldn’t resist; sorry).

What the Republican Party actually needs is not an abandonment of its Conservative principles, but rather a commitment to promote these same principles with kindness & compassion. An honest and sincere rebranding is in order, not an abandonment of core principles.

A few simple suggestions come to mind:

Demonstrate in words and actions that you want to earn 100% of the vote. The party must appeal to everyday “workers” as much as to those wealthy “job creators” Republicans can’t stop obsessing about. The next time a Republican mentions “47%”, it had better be while describing his body fat.

And here’s a clever thought: If you want the Hispanic vote, show the Hispanic community that you actually like Hispanics! As a demographic, they are hard working, courageous, family-oriented, and religious (even pro-life) – qualities perfectly suited to a Conservative message. So stop referring to them as “illegals” as though they were another breed of dog. And enough talk of “electrifying fences” as though electrocuting a 13 year-old child trying to sneak into this country is reasonable.  And stop enacting “show me your papers” laws, which is an affront to each and every Hispanic in this country.

Similarly, if you want the African American vote (Paul Ryan’s “urban vote”), try actually appealing to black voters. Enough talk of welfare queens or moochers or takers. The Party simply has to understand that very few people actually enjoy being on government assistance (and the low self-esteem that accompanies it).  Instead of writing off this voting block, tell African Americans why a Conservative message will lift them and their communities.

One additional hint: trying to restrict minority voting with unnecessary voter ID laws or prohibiting Sunday voting serves only to rally these voters against you. It really is simple: if you want their vote, treat them with respect and show them you want it!

Enough of the Ugly! Words and tone really do matter. What moral voter, of any political affiliation, wants to reward a party that calls our first black President a Kenyan, a Muslim, a Socialist, lazy, a liar, a racist and Un-American? Who is proud that our President was forced to actually show his birth certificate on national television? If you hate his policies, attack his policies, but enough with the horrific name-calling.

Don’t run from your Pro-Life position, but remember that Pro-Life is not limited to opposing abortion. It also includes caring for the poor, the uninsured, the lost and the undocumented. It’s very hard to sound Pro-Life when you are also telling the uninsured that they should be left to die on hospital ER gurneys.

And when discussing rape, I think it’s time for middle aged white males to turn off their microphones. Lastly, the Party should think very carefully (and speak very cautiously) before demanding that a 13 year-old victim of a savage rape carry her pregnancy for another 9 months.

No more clowns in Primary Process. Does anyone believe Romney was helped by 348 debates alongside the likes of Trump, Palin, Cain, and Perry?  How can you possibly attract a serious candidate if you require him/her to stand alongside a cast of clowns?  Even more destructive is forcing a moderate candidate to pretend he is Attila the Hun, rendering him so extreme that he is unable to make the tack to a more moderate position required in a general election. The role of President of the United States is an extremely serious one. Manage your selection process accordingly.

Enough with Anti-Intellectualism:

• Believe in Math: Tax plans must add up, and when every professional poll shows that your candidate is losing, stop inventing conspiracy theories and opting instead for your own imaginative “internal” polls.

• Believe in Science: The Earth is not 6,000 years old. Creationism is religion, not science. Women can get pregnant after rape. And when 98% of scientists state climate change is a real phenomenon, at least hesitate before claiming that all scientists are frauds.

Reign in the Rabid Right Wing Media Complex:  (and you liberals do the same with your loudmouths!)

Does anyone think Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity helped the Republican Party this election cycle? They are simply loud-mouthed entertainers who flourish economically when Democrats are in power.  They rile up their passionate base only for their own economic gain, fostering little more than hatred and conspiracy theories. Thoughtful discussion and facts have no place in their shows (did anyone notice that these experts all erroneously predicted a Romney victory on the eve of the election?).

Ask Rush if his name-calling helped re-elect the infamous Allen West or Joe Walsh. Don’t any of Rush’s “ditto-heads” realize that Rush is thrilled at Obama’s re-election, as he now has four additional years to rant and make millions from his lemmings?

These loud mouths are not just annoying to non-Republicans, they are a real cause of harm to the Republican Party.

Federalism and the 10^th Amendment: While your Party’s stance in favor of a limited role of the central government and greater deference to state’s rights certainly has merit, acknowledge that there is still an essential role for the Federal government in our lives. Be it FEMA or the FDA, our success as a nation still depends on a strong federal government.  This government, however, must be lean, efficient and noble.

Lastly, perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned from this election cycle is that it is not enough to run against something or someone — especially if you run on hatred. You must stand for something and passionately articulate your beliefs. Prove to the 100% why your approach is best for them and then ask all 100% for their vote.

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I think every political analyst, professional or amateur, should have the courage to make an election prediction on the last day of each presidential campaign.

In my case, while I know it is impolite to brag, I should first warn you that my general success at electoral prognostication  has run as high as 50% — nearly that of a simple coin flip.

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Accordingly, my prediction:   (please insert drum-roll right here)

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Obama wins electoral college:  276 to 262.

Obama wins popular vote: 49.8% to 48.2%.

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Tomorrow night you will discover whether I am just a moron without any political wisdom or whether I am actually a moron with a lucky guess.

Let’s wait and see.

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Everyone knows that only morons mix friendship and politics. As a moron, then, I would like to report on the rather tense dinner gathering I attended last evening.

Four couples. Eight voters. Mexican food.  Muchas margaritas. Seven very strong supporters of Romney,  and me, an Independent-weakly-tending-possible-Obama voter.

Feeling rather defensive as the lone Independent, I found myself in the very awkward position of defending a sitting President whom I only half-heartedly support.

The result will be broadcast on pay-per view next week:

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WRESTLEMANIA XXI: The Mexican Margarita Melee!

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As these seven staunch Romney supporters are all educated professionals, it would be terribly arrogant of me to simply assume that their positions are either ill formed or irrational.  As I truly value both their friendships and opinions, I thought it best to thoroughly examine their arguments before casting a potentially irresponsible vote for Obama next Tuesday.

I will address their arguments separately:

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1. “Obama is a Socialist.”

As I have heard this charge many times, I always reply with a simple question:

What series of policies or legislation has Obama enacted that can be defined as being Socialist?

I invariably get two replies:

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(a) “Obamacare is a government takeover of healthcare.“

Obamacare simply requires those who can afford insurance to purchase the private insurance of their choice.  Not government insurance. Private insurance. This is a government takeover?

Republicans have conveniently forgotten that this individual mandate was actually created by the conservative Heritage Foundation and enjoyed the full support of the Republican Party for years — that is until a Democratic President with a strange name actually embraced this definitionally Conservative philosophy. Requiring individual responsibility? How Socialistic!

[A funny note: 70% of Tea Party members are actually against cuts in Medicare — the real  “government controlled health care”. Ha!]

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(b) “Obama speaks and acts like a Socialist.”

This charge refers to the classic “populist” rhetoric that has been employed at election time by nearly every Democrat since FDR.

Personally, those “it’s time those fat cats paid their fair share” comments used to rally the troops make me very uncomfortable. But these are the exact same lines used by Clinton, Gore, Dukakis, and Kerry  — and no one ever accused them of being Socialists.

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2. “Obama should never have bailed out Detroit. They should have gone through the routine bankrupty process required of any other corporation.”

The fatal flaw in this argument is that during the horrific economic climate that existed at the time, it has been clearly documented that there did not exist a single investor able to step in and bail out Detroit. As a consequence, bankruptcy would have been Chapter 7, not Chapter 11, with full liquidation. The result would have been a complete dissolution of the Detroit automotive industry, with a loss of well over 1 million jobs.

As explained by Steven Rattner, the financier appointed to manage the Detroit crisis at the time:

“In late 2008 and early 2009, when G.M. and Chrysler had exhausted their liquidity, every scrap of private capital had fled to the sidelines. I know this because the administration’s auto task force, for which I was the lead adviser, spoke diligently to all conceivable providers of funds, and not one had the slightest interest in financing those companies on any terms. If Mr. Romney disagrees, he should come forward with specific names of willing investors in place of empty rhetoric. I predict that he won’t be able to, because there aren’t any.”

This then begs the final question: would you have rather have followed Romney’s plan and witnessed the complete liquidation of the Detroit automotive industry (and its accompanying loss of over 1 million jobs) or would you rather have supported Obama’s bailout which saved Detroit (seen GM’s just released 3rd quarter financials?…)?

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3. “President Clinton has publically admitted that he was the cause of the financial ruin left to us at the end of Bush’s eight years in office.”

What Clinton actually admitted was that his well-intentioned policies to encourage home mortgage lending to those who really did not qualify for such mortgages was, in fact, a big mistake.

This error, however, no more lead to our financial ruin than Wilbur & Orville’s development of the airplane led to the Twin Tower’s disaster.

Clinton’s policies would have ultimately led to a severe downturn in the housing market — nothing more. Our ruin, was the result of years of Republican deregulation of the financial industry that permitted the deceitful and greedy bundling of mortgage backed securities, which led to a complete financial collapse.

And for the record, it is worth a brief reminder of Bush II:

• Entered office with a budget surplus given to him by Clinton.
• Left office with record deficit and economy in ruin, hemorrhaging 800,000 jobs per month.
• Created only 1 million jobs in 8 years (Clinton created 21 million; Obama 5.2 million in 4 years).
• Bush erroneously invaded Iraq, costing us $3 trillion, not to mention thousands of lives. (Source: Washington Post)
• Bush’s unfunded tax cuts lead to a deficit of over $ 2 trillion (Source: Tax Foundation)
• Bush’s unfunded Medicare prescription drug plan lead to a debt of $7 trillion. (Source: AP)

All this is really Bill Clinton’s fault?

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4. “Everything bad in this country is Obama’s fault. Anything positive that is happening is occurring despite Obama, not because of him.”

There is little I can say here.

How can you give your leader the blame for everything bad, but no credit for anything good that has happened under his control?

Sounds very much like the headline: “Bush killed Osama Bin Laden!”

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5. “If I watch the documentary 2016: OBAMA’S AMERICA, I will change my mind.”

I will watch this propaganda film as soon as my Republican friends attend a Michael Moore Movie Marathon. Biased infomercials are simply never a source of meaningful information, whether they be from the Left or Right.

And while there are countless factual errors in this movie — documented by experts from both parties, perhaps the conservative FORBES magazine put it best:

“Obama 2016 is full of holes. It blurs the arguments against Obama with conspiratorial thinking and is full of blatant falsehoods.”

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6. “Obama is unwilling to work with Republicans.”

I have never understood this charge.

A few undisputed facts:

• After inauguration, Mitch McConnell states: “‘My number one priority is making sure president Obama is a one-term president.” One heck of a number one priority!
• Republican Congress uses the filibuster to obstruct Obama more than any congress in history.
• Birther movement so outrageous that Obama is forced to “show his papers” lest 40% of Republicans think him a Kenyan. Trump must be proud.
• On the eve of Obama’s inaguration, Paul Ryan and 14 Republicans met and created a  formal plan to obstruct anything Obama might propose during his term in office in an effort to unseat him four years later.

Who is unwilling to work with whom?

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7. “Romney’s tax plan is nothing like Bush II’s.”

As Romney has specifically admitted that he will not divulge his plan, it is difficult for anyone to say exactly what he will do.

What we do know, though, is only what he has actually stated on the record:  he will not only make the Bush tax cuts permanent, but he intends to further cut taxes by an additional 20%.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck….

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8. “Obama simply has not created a pro-business environment – either in his philosophies or policies.”

My friends might be surprised to hear that I agree with them on this issue. Obama’s policies, actions and even his use of language  have made the business community leery of anything that he does.

If he is re-elected, I sincerely hope he will respond to this serious criticsm and adjust accordingly. For example, he may embrace the new “Campaign to Fix the Debt CEO Fiscal Leadership Council“, a new non-partisan organization of America’s leading business executives who are offering their plan for a renewed pro-business economy.

Many presidents have made profound shifts during a second term. Perhaps we’ll see one here.

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In summary, my final take-home message from this dinner gathering:

1. I love and respect my friends even if I completely disagree with them; and

2. Mixing friendships and politics is possible, but the addition of margaritas may not be wise…

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